- ARSENAL | €434.5M | ENGLISH ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
Arsenal have beaten Juventus to make it into the top 10 in the list of highest revenue generation list primarily by making significant matchday revenue, which amounted to almost three times that of Juventus. Arsenal have invested heavily in the Emirates Stadium which is now helping them obtain the benefits. Nevertheless, Arsenal did not qualify to participate in any UEFA club competition in the 2021-22 season which hindered their ability to earn more television revenue.
9 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR(SPURS) | €525M | ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
This is the first time since the pandemic began in 2020 Tottenham breached the €500m revenue mark which shows that the club is on the right track in terms of revenue generation under the prudent leadership of chairman Daniel Levy.
Tottenham have witnessed a 30 per cent increase in year-on-year revenue thanks to a massive jump in matchday earnings enhanced by their new stadium and commercial earnings. They could have achieved a higher share of television revenue only if they were not playing in the third tier of European competition, the Europa Conference League. Although they did not perform particularly well in the conference league, they had a group stage exit which adversely affected their television earnings.
8 CHELSEA | €570.3M | ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
Chelsea changed ownership after a splendid 19 years under Roman Abramovich with the Todd Boehly and the Clearlake Capital consortium completing the acquisition with £2.5bn ($3.2bn) ending up being the sale price of the club.
Chelsea’s television revenue took a dive after they were knocked out by Real Madrid in the quarter-final of the Champions League. Nevertheless, the club saw significant growth in commercial and matchday earnings as effect of the pandemic faded which sees them maintain their position on the list.
- BARCELONA | €640.2 | LA LIGA
Barcelona seem to have been the worst hit club by the coronavirus pandemic as their revenue is still down by €205m from the 2018-19 season. The Catalan club had the steepest fall in the rankings with the club dropping from fourth on the list to seventh.
Television revenue declined by 16 per cent while their commercial earnings (at €7m) was expressively outpaced by other clubs.
However Barca’s newly struck sponsorship deal with Spotify did help to stable the ship a bit but was not enough to keep them within the top five of this list. But, the economic levers activated by the club, including the sale of both 49.9% of its ‘Barçelona Licensing and Merchandising’ company and 25% of its domestic La Liga rights over a 25-year period to bet on future of the club, did not impact revenue in 2021-22 and will only be reflected in the next editions of the review.
6 BAYERN MUNICH | €655.6M | BUNDESLIGA
Bayern Munich have dropped from the third spot to sixth on the list, despite a 7% growth in year-on-year revenue. Bayern Munich are yet to breach pre-pandemic level earning numbers which indicates that the club is still feeling the economic burden imposed by Covid-19. Bavarin Giants have also failed to keep pace with the recovery rate of the English clubs as their television revenue has gone south by €46m from the previous year 2020-21.
5 PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN | €654.2M | LIGUE 1
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) seems to have improved from the after-effects of the Covid-19 pandemic since they outpaced their pre-pandemic levels by €20m in terms of revenue.
With audiences coming back to the stadium in full measure in 2022 the French champions also relished a huge increase in matchday revenue. Nevertheless, an early exit from the Champions League saw their television revenue plunge by €63m. PSG’s wage to revenue ratio is a cause of concern for the club as it stands at 114 per cent. Having global superstars like Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr. and Kylian Mbappe on the books is taking a huge toll on club books.
4 MANCHESTER UNITED | €690.6M | ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
Manchester United climbed by one spot in the rankings from 2020-21 list after seeing a 23 per cent growth in their total revenue in 2021-22 season.
Although their commercial revenue and matchday revenue grew by €50 and €119m respectively they were badly affected by their below-average on-pitch performance which took a huge toll on the television revenue.
Manchester United finished sixth in the ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE and were thrown out in the round of 16 in the Champions League which saw their television revenue have a steep drop of €35m.
3 LIVERPOOL | €702.7M | ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
Liverpool shattered the €700m revenue mark to leave behind traditional powerhouses of finances like Manchester United and Barcelona.
The Reds registered a jump in revenue of more than €100m in matchday revenue and a jump of a further €37m in matchday revenue which helped them see a spike of 27 per cent in total revenue.
The Merseyside club finished as runners-up in both the ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE and the Champions League which ensured that they were receiving a healthy portion of the television revenue until the very end of the 2021-22 season.
2 REAL MADRID | €716.8M | LA LIGA
Los Blancos are yet to recover fully from the after-effects of the Covid-19 pandemic with the club’s revenue still short by €45m from 2018-19 season. If Los Blancos had hit their pre-pandemic numbers, they would have been on the top spot in the Money League in 2021-22.
Nonetheless, the Spanish giants saw a jump in earnings of 12 per cent from 2020-21 season. This was completely driven by an increase in matchday revenue which sprung to €91m from just €9m.
Los Blancos emerged victorious in both La Liga and UEFA Champions League which further helped their cause hugely.
1 MANCHESTER CITY | €732M | ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
The sky blues retained their position at the top of the Money League after seeing a 14 per cent jump in revenue from €644.9m to €733m.
Their bump has been driven by an increase in commercial revenue which is due to lucrative contracts signed with Ethihad Airways, up by €66m to €375m in 2021-22 season, which is a new ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE high.
The Manchester club’s global footprint is expanding rapidly with each season as their dominant form in the English football under manager Pep Guardiola continues. They are the defending ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE champions and also reached the last four of the Champions League in 2021-22 season which helped add fuel to their revenue generation this season.
